WITHIN two years, many people in villages near Crediton can expect their broadband speeds to be doubled, tripled or even quadrupled or more, while some, such as Hittisleigh, will have to wait a little longer. At a full meeting at Yeoford Community Hall, Sofie Francis from Devon County Council and Laurent Boon from BT explained how the Connecting Devon and Somerset scheme will benefit the area. The meeting had been called by Crediton Hamlets Parish Council. Sofie said they would all get a faster broadband, it was not a matter of if but when. She explained the funding coming from county councils, from the government and from BT, would help provide this. She said the current scheme would extend superfast broadband to about 90 per cent of premises in Devon and Somerset with access to at least 24 Mbps connectivity by the end of 2016. FIBRE OPTIC OR COPPER CABLE This also includes the private sector's commercial roll-out of fibre. Later stages of Connecting Devon and Somerset would further extend availability. The Council's are committed to ensuring everyone has access to superfast broadband by 2020 or sooner if possible, others up to 2020. Laurent explained the differences between fibre optic and copper cable. The further a property was from the new green cabinets, so the signal dropped. In the local area Laurent said that about 60 per cent of premises in Crediton Hamlets should be able to get superfast broadband (24Mbps or above); 70 per cent at Cheriton Bishop, 50 per cent at Colebrooke and 90 per cent at Copplestone. These estimates were subject to survey. Hittisleigh would not see any improvement yet, but people there could improve their broadband speeds by subscribing to a a satellite service. Laurent explained it would be "very expensive" to provide Hittisleigh with a better service at this stage. Sofie added that they had £94 million and had to reach around 90 per cent of premises. Laurent said it was not a question so much of distance away from a cabinet as the amount of coverage for the money available, whether served by overhead cable or underground. Asked about distance between cabinets, Laurent explained that if a property was more than about 1.8km as the crow flies (as a rule of thumb) from a cabinet, their speed would probably not be more than 2 Mbps. Sofie asked people to be patient, their service would improve as soon as it could be done. She said that by the time Connecting Devon and Somerset had finished, some parts would be better connected than some cities. The new infrastructure would provide speeds of up to 80Mbps. economically viability The point was made that there were about 60 properties in Hittisleigh, about half of whom would like a faster broadband speed - but would not get this because it had been decided that Hittisleigh was not economically viable. Sofie said there would be funding in future years. She was told: "You can take it as read there is not a good mobile signal in that area." She advised that if it was "critical" to have better broadband, then businesses and residents should consider purchasing a satellite solution in the interim, but it was not as cost effective as fixed line broadband. "We will come to you but it will take some time, we will get to you eventually," she said. 'MASSIVE PRIORITY' She said the scheme was "a massive priority" for the county council and, although some people might have to wait a few years, she guaranteed they would get a faster connection. Crediton Hamlets Parish Council chairman, Peregrine Leigh, told people to contact the clerk (Malcolm Vallance, 01363 772769, [email protected]">[email protected]) with queries. People can also check the Connecting Devon and Cornwall website for progress and a post code speed check at: http://www.connectingdevonandsomerset.co.uk">www.connectingdevonandsomerset.co.uk .